St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1887-04-14
A CALEDONIA BOY.
Something About G. Ii. M. Harvey of
Peacham.
The Journalist.

On Wednesday of this week the New
jersey Edition of the New York World
took possession of its handsome and
well appointed new offices at No. 81
Montgomery street Jersey City, and
ushered in IL now era of prosperity
When Mr.. Joseph Pulitzer announced
that he intended publishing Il special
edition of The World for New Jersey,
the local newspaper men in that state
predicted absolute failure, but now,
after nearly eighteen months of its
successful issue, even those sceptics
agree that the project has revolution
lied journalism in New Jersey, i'm
proved the condition of newspaper
men generally, heightened the tone OF
the press, and created demand and
supply for news, which, previously,
no one had even dreamed of.
The New Jersey Edition is run on
precisely the same principle as the
New York Edition. 1t attacks public
abuses fearlessly and exposes political
corruption wherever found. The great
est sensation the state of New Jersey
has ever known was caused by the re-
cent expose in The World of the mis-
deeds of Monmouth county officials,
but this was only one of Il series OF
well-engineered moves on the part OF
The World to secure for the people OF
New Jersey good local and state gov
eminent and equal taxation. 1t is not
surprising that such paper should
succeed, and IL glance at the newspa-
per men who have contributed to its
remarkable success cannot but be of
interest.
The managing editor of the New
Jersey edition is George B. M. Harvey,
who began newspaper work very early
in life, and has very successfully filled
editorial and other positions upon the
Chicago News, Springfield Republican, ,
and several more papers of the highest
standing throughout the country. He
is only twenty three years of age, and
came from Vermont, from where he
brought many admirable maxims to
guide him through life. He is to many
a phenomenon, being the perfect en-
bodiment of common sense, tact, un-
firing industry and unlimited enter
prise. October 9th, 1885, he stepped
on Jersey soil for the first time, and as
The Worlds offices were not ready for
use, he gave out his assignments upon
the sidewalk at No. "a Montgomery
street, Jersey City, to John S. Hoy,
Robert Wright, Joseph Dillon Byrne,
Cornelius Young, and two others. Each
train on every line of railroad that
evening brought in copy which Mr..
Harvey "blue pencilled" on the top of
a rudely constructed plank table. On
the following morning a bright clean
sheet full of readable and live news
was eagerly bought up everywhere,
and the generous acknowledgements of
contemporary sheets, the frequent cash
of the public testified that The Worlds
New Jersey Edition had come to re-
main. Mr.. Harvey's first policy was to
tell the truth about the mOnOpOlies
which infested the state and kept it
from progressing. His selection of
subjects for stories was shrewd, and
the present deplOrable condition of the
''third house," or lobby, at Trenton, is
due to him alone. Unknown, he went
to Trenton and in a short time sized
up the members. Then in scathing
parody upon the "MikadO" he held up
to ridicule "COl. BarcOlOw," and other
railroad lobbyists. The COR
rupt members feared him, and the hon
est legislators became his friends. His
history of the franchises and grants to
the various railroads followed, the tax
alton Investigations, reform of local
bodies, advocacy of the Washington
street bride and other matters, all of
which doomed the paper, while the
news departments, despite of powerful
existing opposition, secured many |
good cheats" Local papers in all |
parts were forced to hustle, while the |
special articles on football, Yachting, |
etc., sent the circulation away up. |
of a retiring nature. Mr.. /